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Help Your 10 Month Old Learn Good Food Habits

Last Updated: September 27, 2008

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Parenting Tips for Your 10 Month Old Baby


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Food habits you build today will last a lifetime. Meal times matter!

Hungry babies want to eat. It's up to parents and other caretakers to help babies develop a good attitude about food.

How? With lots of praise, a little patience, and encouragement, your baby can learn to like a wide variety of tastes and textures in new foods.

Good food habits start in infancy. Help your baby learn to eat just the right amount for her — not too much, not too little, but just the right amount. Don’t coax your baby to clean her plate. Don’t offer food as a reward.

If your baby doesn’t like a food, or if she seems not to tolerate it well, don’t make her eat it. Wait a week or two, and then offer it again. Give a small portion of what she didn’t like before, served with a food she does like. Do not mix the two.

You might try to cook the food she dislikes in a different way. Young children may not like a food they can’t identify. If the rest of the family likes a food, your baby will probably like it, too.

When family members or friends offer your baby foods that you prefer not to serve, be willing to bend a little bit. Allow your child to have a small amount of the food every now and then. Small amounts of sweets will do less harm than a negative response from you. On the other hand, encourage your child to eat healthy foods every time you get a chance.


Learn more about Your 10 Month Old Baby from Just In Time Parenting. You can also go to our Resource Links for additional information on child care and development.
Note to Parents: When reading this newsletter, remember: Every baby is different. Children may do things earlier or later than described here. This newsletter gives equal space and time to both sexes. If he or she is used, we are talking about all babies.
References: These materials were adapted by authors from Extension Just in Time Parenting Newsletters in California, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Wisconsin.

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